Sadow Yatsumaru
Sadow Joviah Yatsumaru, born John Lawrence Taylor and otherwise known by his Hell-Hunter identification codename V-18 or "Sariel". He is a side-protagonist in Cysti and a Hell-Hunter created by Dr. Greeves. Appearance Sadow has a short, spikey hairstyle and blue, slitted eyes. He wears a red Trenchcoat with a black, leather uniform underneath with multiple straps sliding in horizontally on the chest section as well as black combat boots most of the time. Personality Sadow is one of the most conflicted and personally-scarred individuals in Cysti, arguably more so than Earendur, as he would point out at one instance. He argues that Earendur's pain is far different from Sadow's in that Earendur knows his past and what it feels like to have a home and a family. Sadow doesn't, and only remembers pain and suffering in his past making him almost numb to it but never completely. As stated above, pain is a thing Sadow lives with everyday; the pain his abilities bring in every shape and form when he uses them, the pain of knowing his past, family, and origins, the pain of being a weapon, an experiment that can never have children or experience what it feels like to be a normal Human. But most of all, Sadow must live with the pain of immortality. Not only does his regenerative process bring unparalleled amounts of agony on him, but the thought that he can never stop this suffering and that if he grows attached to people who can die, he will have to lay witness to it never escapes him. Sadow drowns his sorrows in loneliness, alcohol, and occasional violence. While he doesn't mind fighting, he hates taking lives due to how addictive it is thanks to the Qliphoth inside of him. Having the incarnate manifestation of mankind's sin inhabiting his vessel amplifies his urges to commit atrocities, but unlike Akihiro, he doesn't want that. He wishes to be as Human as possible and denies himself such carnal urges. This, too, brings a bit of withdrawal on him for weeks after taking a life or coming too close to acting cruel or malicious. He keeps a detached and cold persona most times, never even letting people touch him without receiving a shove, if he's feeling generous. He belittles people often and scorns them no matter what; if they value their lives, he calls it cowardice. If they try to be brave, he calls it stupidity. When people try to get close to him, he pushes them away and lashes out in order to keep them away from sharing his pain. But as Earendur eventually finds out, he longs for company. For friends he can pour his sorrows upon. In Earendur's own words, he "wants a shoulder to cry on." This is highlighted when Earendur and Matt try to get to know Sadow better. Initially, he tries his best to dissuade them, even going so far as to verbally abuse Earendur and insult Matthew directly afterword. However, when they learn of how he attained his "impressive" abilities and how painful it is to use them, he shows a seething anger at them for coming so close to him and breaking his emotional wall. When Sadow points out their apparent "taking death for granted" and proclaims his longing to die, Earendur sadly responds with his thankfulness that Sadow is alive. This one act shatters Sadow's wall completely, and allows him to break down in front of them. Rather than push Earendur away when he pats his back, Sadow allows him to, finally allowing himself to have a friend. From then on, Sadow takes on different values. He finds meaning in his suffering; upholding the lives of the ones he cares about. He even finds some light-hearted moments with them, though retains his air of detachment; making up excuses for coming to their aid in battle and hanging out with them. While everyone grieves when Earendur has become a Cardinal, Sadow secretly vows to help him back himself, only conveying this to Matt in private and agreeing to help him return Earendur to his old self alongside him. When the war against Bael starts to kickoff, Sadow immediately hops among humanity's side but shows immediate disdain for the idea of allowing Akihiro to help them. While no one ever really trusted Akihiro, Sadow was the only one to go so far as to monitor him, noting his disappearances and eventually confronting him on his betrayal. He also aids the forces with heavy work as well as lending combat expertise to others and helping train younger recruits or sparring with others. Personally, he feels inadequate against Bael due to the Devil Lord's control of the Qliphoth, including the ones in his cells. He feels a bit ashamed of this, but despises Akihiro for his cowardice about it. Sadow and Akihiro's long-heated feud is legendary in the Cysti storyline. For years, they have fought and rivalled each other. Since neither can kill the other, they agreed to fight for the right to wear a small necklace with a red crystal on it. Whoever can take the necklace and keep it until their next bout is that fight's victor. Akihiro, when introduced, is wearing the necklace and even ridicules Sadow for his lower amount of victories. Apart from their rivallry, Akihiro holds a very personal place in Sadow's mind. If anyone holds the most deepest seated hatred in Sadow's soul, it's Akihiro. Countless lovers stolen and raped, killed, or both, innocent people, sometimes even friends, butchered just for the sake of spiting Sadow... Little tragedy has been recorded in human history that Sadow's "brother" has not committed against him. Apart from Aki, Sadow tends to hold little more than irritation for the other Hell-Hunters. He, apparently, has had a strange relationship with Yuka in the past that borded between romance to maternal and still is held currently. Sadow is often annoyed by Abraham's arrogant, cocky attitude and goofy behaviour. Generally, he is aggravated by the idea that these people are his "relatives" simply because they all underwent similar experiments. One thing Sadow notes against Abraham is his hatred for the fact that Abe volunteered to be experimented on. When Abraham retorts that Sadow could have and just doesn't know it, Sadow immediately becomes hot with fury at such an insulting accusation. Synopsis Sadow is introduced in Chapter 2 whilst riding a red motorcycle and wearing a red biker helmet. It is mentioned he is fleeing some unknown pursuers as he reaches Oakswood, a small town surrounded by forestation in California. Abilities Quotes "The wrath of a king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify it." -To Abraham during their fight. "Listen, punk, I'd scurry off before I permanently introduce your face to your '''colon'."'' "If this goes wrong, it's your ass." "You're going to look really funny when your balls are hanging out of your nose, punk." "You're about two seconds away from wearing that smile around your ass." "Get the '''fuck' off my car!"'' -To Feng when he lands on the hood of his car, smashing his windshield. "Good going, artard, always thinking with your stomach..." -To Geno after the latter gets them caught in a trap. "Nice job letting him live, dipshit! Here's an idea: Killing- and you're going to scoff at this- isn't always a bad thing! (gasps) Can you believe it?!" Trivia *His theme song, as chosen by the author, is "Heron Blue" by Sun Kil-Moon.